Gate.



No. 230,570. I PATENTED JUNE 9, 1903. x. L. RITER & E, w. CARLOS.

GATE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1902.

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' PATENTED JUNE-9,1903.

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APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 6, 1902.

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UNITED STATES PatentedJune 9, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. RITER AND EARL W. CARLOS, OF BROWNSVILLE, INDIANA.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 730,570, dated June 9,1903.

Application filed September 6.1902. $erial No. 122,348. (No model.) a Amechanism operated at a distance therefrom. The primary object of ourinvention is to provide a gate of this character which is opened andclosed by shifting the pivot end thereof to different inclinations,whereby the gate is also tilted and will gravitate to either an openedor closed position, according to the direction of inclination of saidpivot end.

A further object of our invention is to provide peculiar latch mechanismfor the purpose of automatically locking the gate. in either its open orclosed position, the said latch mechanism engaging the gate at thefront-:and rear ends thereof, so as to firmly and securely hold thesame,and so constructed and arranged that the gate will be releasedautomatically when operated upon by the tilting mechanism.

A further object of-our invention is to provide for opening'and closingthe gate independent of the tilting mechanism, so that pedestrians mayopen the gate without the necessity of operating the tilting mechanism.

These objects are attained by pivoting the lower end of the gate to afixed support and the upper end to a lever by which said-upper end isshifted, so that the pivotal'axis ofthe gate may be thrown to differentinclinations,-

and providing said lever with a sliding catch adapted to engage notchesin avplate for holding said pivot end torits shifted position, incombination with spring-latches which engage the. outer or free end ofthe gate and from which engagement-thegate is moved automatically by.the operation-of tilting the same.

Our invention consists in the particular construction and combination ofparts, all as willbe hereinafter fully described and more specificallyset forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form .inechanism carried by thepost.

a part hereof, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a gate constructed inaccordance with our invention, showing the gate in its closed position.Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation v,of-the pivot end of the gate, thedotted lines showing the position to which it is thrown in opening thesame. Fig. 3 is a' similar view of the frontend of the gate. Fig. 4 is aplan view of the hinge end of the gate and the Fig. 5 is a sectionalview on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Fig. (i is a detail plan of the upperhinge-bracket. Fig. 7 is a detail plan view, partly in section, showingone set of catches. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of one of thebuffers.

Like letters of reference designate like parts in the several views ofthe drawings.

A designates the gate proper, which in the present instance is shown ascomposed of a frame of tubular metal and consisting of the horizontalbars a a and vertical bars a and ahforming panels,wh'ich are covered byawire network, as shown; but inasmuch as the particular construction ofthe gate proper is an immaterial feature of our invention the same maybe changed or modified to any extent de sired. g

B designates a post which is located at one side of the roadway and towhich the gate is pivoted, B designates a post located oppositetheaforesaid post and carrying the latches for holding the gate closed,and B designates a post located on a line with the post B and-againstwhich the gate abuts when open. On a line with the posts B and B at asuitable distance beyond the latter and at either A side of the gateway,are posts B having arms 19, suitably braced and adapted to support the.operatingscords hereinafter referred to.

- In carrying out our invention we attach nearthelowerend of the post 13a pintle 0, upon which turns a socket or hinge member 0, attached to thegate A, and these parts form the fixed pivot for the lower end of thegate. At the upper corner of. the rear end of the gate is attached orformed integrally a pivot-pin 0 having a bearing in the forward end of alever D, said lever being pivoted on a plate E, attached to the upperend of the post B and providing the movable or shifting support for theupper pivot of the gate. The pivot-pin 0 passes through and travels in aslot e, curved concentric to the fulcrum or pivot d of the lever D, andat either end of this slot 6 is a buffer F, adjustable in said slot andconsisting of the disks ff, connected by a bolt and nut by which theyare clamped upon the plate. These buffers not only serve to receive theimpact of the pivot-pin 0 but more especially for the purpose oflimiting the throw of the lever D, and consequently determining theinclination to which the piv-' otal axis of the gate is moved, for itwill be understood thatalight gate requires a greater inclination ortilt than a heavy one. In the plate E, between the slot e and the pivotof the lever D, is a second segmental slot 6, in which travels thedownwardly-projecting end of a sliding catch g, carried by the lever D,and at each end of the slot e the plate is provided with notches-e withwhich the catch engages when the gate is open, and centrally said slotis provided with opposite notches c and 6 with which said catch engageswhen the gate is closed.

The shank of the sliding catch 9 works in a boss d formed on the leverD, and between said boss and a collar g on the shank is a helical spring72, which serves to project the catch into engagement with the notches eand e The head of the catch plays in a slot in the lever and is providedwith flanges which overlie the upper and lower surfaces of said lever.To the rear end of the shank of the sliding catch is attached theoperatingcord I, which is divided into two lengths 1' I, which passaround guide-pulleysjj at the rear end of the lover I) and extend inopposite directions from the gate, the outer ends being supported by thearmsb of the posts B so that the terminals will be in easy reach. Theouter ends of these operating-cords pass through pulleys I), supportedby the arms I), and the terminals of said cords are provided withhandles 71. The arrangement of the operating-cords permits the gate tobe operated at a distance from either side of the same in the mannerhereinafter described. In order that the lever D may be operated when itis on or nearly on a line with the posts B and 13 said lever is providedwith a cross-arm D, the ends of which are turned upward, forming fingersd, against which the operating-cords bear.

To provide for locking the gate in a closed position, two sets ofspring-latches are located, respectively, at the upper and lower ends ofthe post B, each set consisting of two latch members M M, pivotedbetween the plates n n of the bracket N, the contiguous inner ends ofsaid latch members being projected normally by means of helical springs0, contained between the plates of the bracket. The outer ends of theupper set of latches are provided with grasping portions m, and in orderto operate both the upper and lower latches they are connected by rods'm, and the disposition of the rods is such that they may be moved bythe thumb of the hand while the fingers grasp the front bar of the gate.The front or outer bar of the gate is provided with upper and lowerprojecting plates 79 p, with which the latches engage. It will be hereunderstood that the gate closing from either side of the gateway willdepress one latch and strike against the other, the former latch movingout to lock and hold the gate closed, also that the plates 19 are ofsuch length that when the gate is tilted upward, as indicated in dottedlines, Fig. 5, said plates will be moved above the latches, so that thegate may be swung open without manipulating the latches.

In operation, supposing the gate to be closed, as in full lines, Fig. 1,one of the opcrating-cords l is drawn upon, which will first release thecatch 9 from the notch e in the plate E and then swing the lever uponits pivot so that it will carry the upper pivot end of the gate aroundto one end of the plate Ethat end at the opposite side of the post Bandthis will not only dispose the pivot end of the gate at an outwardinclination, but also tilt the forward end of the same upward, and thetilting of the gate, combined with the inclination of the pivot end,will cause said gate to swing open upon its pivot or axis outward oraway from the operator. When the gate is open, the outer end thereofabuts against the post B engaging a springlatch S thereon, which servesto hold it open. After passing through the gate the operator, wishing toclose the same, draws upon the other operating-cord I, which will firstrelease the catch 9 from the notch e and then swing the lever so that itwill move the upper pivot end of the gate to the center of the plate E,the catch first engaging the notch e and when the operating-cord isreleased then springing forward into engagement with the notch eopposite. The pivot end of the gate is then returned to nearlya verticalposition, inclining slightly forward, and the forward end being movedout of engagement with the latch S the said gate will close by gravity,being caught between the latches at the upper and lower ends of thelatch-post B. It will be here noted that the pivot end of the gate isheld securely by the catch g engaging the notch 6 so as to prevent thegate being opened by pressure against the rear end of the same from anycausesuch, for instance, as a heavy wind blowing against'the same or bythe rubbing of cattle against the gate. In the operation of opening thegate the upper pivot travels in the segmental slot e until it abutsagainst the buffer or stop F, and then the catch engages the notch 6which is on a line with the catch, and therefore it will be understoodthat the inclination of the pivot end of the gate can be changed byadjusting the buffer or stop in the slot. When the lever is swung todispose the pivot end in a substantially vertical position, it is heldby the IIO catch, as hereinbefore may stated, and the gate then beopened'and closed in the usual manner by first releasing the latcheswhich engage the forward end of the gate. The opening and closing of thegate in the usual manner is not interfered with in the least by theopening and closing mechanism, nor does this manner of opening andclosing disturb said mechanism. In other words, the gate in its normalposition becomes an ordinary pivoted gate. This is an important featureof the invention, as also is the fact that the mechanical devices foropening and closing the gate at a distance from either side thereof areextremely simple in their construction and arrangement and are notliable to get out of orderand will at all times insure a positiveoperation. 7

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is A 1. In a swinging gate, the combinationwith the lower pivot, of an upper pivotal connection, a pivoted leverforming a part of said upper pivotal connection, a plate upon which thelever is pivoted, said plate having concentric segmental slots e and ,ein front of the pivot, notches e at the ends of slot e and notches e ande at the center portion of said slot, the last-mentioned notches beingdirectly opposite each other, a catch carried by the lever and travelingin slot e and adapted to engage the aforesaid notches, and a pivot onthe gate connected to the forward end of the lever and traveling in theslot e; together with operating-cords connected to the catch and bywhich the lever is also operated, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a swinging gate, the combination with the lower pivot, of an upperpivotal connect t-ion, a pivoted lever forming a part of said upperpivotal connection, a plate upon which the lever is pivoted, said platehaving segmental slot-s, a catch carried by the lever and adapted totravel in one of said slots and engage notches in the plate, a pivot onthe gate traveling in the other of said slots and connected to thelever, and bufiers or steps adjustable in the last-mentioned slot.

3. In aswinging gate, the combination with the lower ,pivot,'of an upperpivotal connection, a pivoted lever forminga part of said upper pivotalconnection, a plate upon which the lever is pivoted, said plate havingsegmental slots, a catch carried by the lever and adapted to travel inone of said slots and engage notches in the plate, a pivot on the gatetraveling in the other of said slots and connect ed to the lever,buffers or stops adjustable in the ends of the last-mentioned slot, andoperating-cords attached to the catch and passing therefrom overguide-rollers at the rear end of the lever, said lever having across-arm with upturned ends, substantially as shown and for-the purposeset forth. I In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in thepresence-of two witnesses.

JOHN L. RITER. EARL W. CARLOS.

